Something Stormy
by FlowerofAdversity
Summary: Another Code Lyoko reincarnated Earth timeline collaborative fic by myself and BrightStarAngie. This time, XANA exposes Odd's deepest, darkest, fear...Astrophobia.


Something Stormy

Note: Code Lyoko, reincarnated world time line. Taking place fairly soon after the events that followed in "The Show Must Go On". XANA's plan is to separate the Warriors so they are less powerful. Feeling Odd is one of the more powerful members of the Warriors, he sends Thunderia to frighten him into submission...but he never counted on a new Warrior...

Chapter 1—Quiet Night, Interrupted

Odd had been sleeping soundly in his dormitory room when the gentle sound of rain could be heard. The storm wasn't gentle or placid for long. Almost instantly, the winds began to pick up and the windows began to rattle. Kiwi, nor Ulrich were awakened from their sleep, but Odd had begun to stir slightly. Just then a rather loud crack sounded in the sky. Odd nearly yelped and hid under his covers. He began counting.

"1 one thousand, 2 one thousand...", he murmured in a shaky voice. Before he could reach 3 one thousand, a loud crash sent him rushing out of his room, weeping. Susanne, who was in her office late, working on meddlesome paperwork, had almost finished her last paper when Odd burst in, wailing.

Before Susanne could ask what the matter was, another thunderclap sounded.

"Ahhh !", Odd squealed, almost like a girl. He began to mewl and wail, grasping onto Susanne.

"Shhh...I'm here. It's alright.", Susanne said, smoothing back the boy's blonde hair. She dried his eyes with a handkerchief and kissed his forehead sweetly. He sniffled a little bit, and then grinned.

"All it is simply are negatrons and positrons reacting to one another, thereby causing electricity. Nothing more than a big wet demonstration of static cling, my dear.", she said, tickling his chin, causing him to laugh.

"Uh, could you explain that in layman's terms ?", Odd said, still hugging onto her. There was another crash, and he held her more gently than before. He wasn't as frightened now with Suanne calming him.

"Lightning, silly !", she said, with a chuckle. Odd laughed in return and finally understood. It was enough to assuage his fear for now, keeping his astraphobia at bay. With that, he let go and she kissed him tenderly.

"Let's get you back to bed.", she said, gently, singing him a tender lullaby. Odd felt his eyes getting heavy but had made it back to his bed in enough time to get tucked in by Susanne. Susanne smiled and swept an errant hair out of Odd's eyes.

"Goodnight, my little jokester.", she said, lovingly, and left to return to her office.

_Meanwhile on Lyoko..._

XANA gave Thunderia a come hither look.

"What is it, Master ?", she questioned, in a sultry tone.

"This boy, Odd DellaRobia, he has astraphobia.", XANA mentioned.

"Will I be fighting him soon ?", Thunderia questioned, eagerly.

"Yes. Yes, it does, my dear. With the Cat Warrior separated from the rest, the Warriors defenses will be weakened.", XANA said, with a sardonic smirk.

"So, what is the plot this time, Master ?", Thunderia questioned. Leaning over to whisper into his creation's ear, he began to lay the foundation of his evil scheme.

Chapter 2—Odd's Crippling Fear, Come to Life

The next day, things seemed fairly normal. There was a three-week vacation period, so Jean-Pierre gave his daughter and Odd, as well as the others, permission to leave the school grounds. They were going to have a picnic at a huge clearing in the park near the school.

"So, Sissi, what's for lunch?", asked Ulrich.

"Sandwiches, juice, cookies, and chips.", Elisabeth said.

"My kind of lunch.", Jim said, eager to eat. While they were eating, Sissi wanted to ask a question of her boyfriend.

"Odd,", she asked, "Why did you freak out last night?"

"Uh, I uh... well—", Odd stammered.

"Odd's afraid of storms.", Susanne answered.

"Oh, really?", Jeremie asked.

"What happened to you that caused it?", Jim asked.

"Well, I've just had some very frightening experiences. It all started when I was a kid. While playing a board game with my mom, there was a thunderstorm outside. A loud boom of thunder scared me."

"Gee, Odd, that's awful.", Yumi said with a bit of sandwich in her mouth.

"Yeah. As a result, it's kinda difficult for me to be near a thunderstorm.", Odd said, taking a bite of a sandwich.

"Hey, wait, Odd,", said Jim, "My powers never scared you." Odd thought about what Jim had said, and realized that what he said was true. He took another quick swig of fruit juice.

"That's right. I guess it's because I know you're there to protect me.", Odd mentioned. Jim grinned and noogied the young man.

"You betcha. I'm here to help.", Jim added, savoring another bite of the sandwich that Susanne had so lovingly crafted for him. The fruit juice had been a homemade blend, sweetened with honey, but it was far better than any smoothie he could find at a nutrition store. There wasn't much more chatter since all of them had indulged in their meal, and there had been a sweet fragrance of blossoms on the wind that passed their way. The weather was spectacular, and Jim had brought along his favorite frisbee to play with his friends. Emily, not much older than 10, had decided to join in with them and adored her "surrogate brothers and sisters". It wasn't hard for her to get along with people, and she seemed to have a St. Francis complex. Everywhere she went wild animals, or domesticated, were nearby. Kiwi, especially, loved her to bits.

There had been a number of games the children played together in the clearing, and by the time the evening had come, Susanne had offered them all dinner.

"Certainly, we have room at the table for them. I love having company over.", Emily said, in an excited, vibrant tone. Her enthusiasm was contagious.

The dinner table had been filled with plenty to eat and surrounded by family and friends. Emily had offered grace and everyone dug in. Susanne enjoyed playing music on her CD player as they indulged themselves in moderation. It was the equivalent to going to a pricey bistro, but more affordable and definitely more comfortable.

"This...is living.", Odd said, sighing in satisfaction.

"Allow me to confess, this is 4 star quality food, and I am not being biased !", Jeramie added. The others agreed, causing the bespectacled beauty to blush modestly. She was a fantastic cook, but she knew Jim too, was no slouch when it came to fixing a stellar meal. Dinner was through, and the students wanted to hang around for a bit. The Moraleses didn't mind at all, considering this was like a reunion for them.

It might've been slightly chilly for the students to camp, but Jim and Susanne had already shown the others how to pitch their tents and get ready for sleep. After thrilling to one of Jim's famous war stories around the fire, everyone was exhausted and had crawled into their tents to sleep for the night. It was calm, quiet and tranquil until XANA had decided to unleash an attack. It seemed the animals were at unrest and couldn't keep quiet, but more so, electricity had begun sparking and going off in the distance.

"Guys we have big trouble. We have to stop this before someone gets hurt, or worse.", Jeramie said,

Chapter 3—Stunned, In More Ways Than One

The thunder and lightning had only grown worse once the Warriors had transferred themselves to Lyoko. They hadn't met the cause of this natural phenomena until Thunderia had made herself known. At this time, Odd was already petrified, and he had curled himself into fetal position. She hadn't even had to shoot her liquid lightning to freeze his feet to the ground.

"Stay away from him, you horrible creation !", Jim shouted, using his thunderclap to knock her back a few feet. He stood in front of Odd to protect him from any further attacks, while Susanne scooped him up to spirit him away to a sanctuary.

"I've got you, my little joker.", she said, holding him close to her heart. Just then she was hit with a thunderbold and knocked down. But she still held Odd tightly to protect him from any further lightning attacks.

"No one dares strike my wife !", Jim said, leaping into combat against Thunderia. This gave Emily some time to heal her mother's scar and allow her mother a window of time to seclude Odd in a safe tower.

"Thank you, my darling.", Susanne said.

"No time for that now mother, DUCK !", Emily said, as they both evaded a lightning blast. The others fought against Thunderia as Susanne raced to place Odd into the clear tower. Her hand softly caressed his as she slipped away from him. He was left in the tower until he had recuperated. A while later, he had been able to join the other Warriors and was back to his normal self, at least for the moment.

Emily had been holding her own among the other Warriors despite her size and age, but she wasn't to be taken lightly, since she had taken karate and Penchat Silat since she had been able to walk, talk and rationalize thought. There had been plenty of monsters to fight but the main cause of the lightning had reappeared again. She returned, directly in front of Odd, and sounded off a cacophonous thunderclap that made him pull his knees up to his chest and mewl like an infant.

"Get away from me !", he wailed, the sobs shaking his shoulders. Sissi bristled at what she was witnessing. Without saying a word, she shot an arrow directly into Thunderia's arm. She shrieked in pain and then had to quickly retreat once the Warriors retaliated. It was taking far too much of the energy she had gained from Odd's fear.

"This isn't the last you'll see of me !", she warned as a thundercloud enveloped her and she vanished.

Sissi sat down next to her boyfriend and held his hand gently.

"Odd, honey, it's me Elisabeth. Everything's alright now. Thunderia's been defeated.", she said, lovingly. His sniffling had ceased, the thunder and lightning was no more, and his pupils and breathing had resumed their normal state.

"What happened ?", he asked, getting back up to his feet.

"We'll fill you in on the way back home.", Emily added, with a warm grin. And with that, the Warriors left for Earth.

Chapter 4—Change is In the Air

_Back on Lyoko..._

"Thunderia, I am highly disappointed with you !", XANA said, nearly spitting venom he was so miffed.

She knew it would be unwise to speak back to her Master.

"Even Hypnotica and Revenia do better work than _you_ do ! I've made a decision to send you into a chamber. Until I deem it for you to be released...Thus is your sentence !", XANA said, snapping his finger. With that one gesture she was locked away in a pod that kept her in stasis. Angered, XANA hurled a rock at something, causing a structure to topple. He was still weak, but for the time, he would have to recharge before he made his next move. He sighed, returned to his grotto and encapsulated himself inside his coffin. At least there, he could think more clearly. Still, he hated the agony of defeat.

_While in and around France..._

Vacation was still in full swing, and the students were relishing all the semi-warm spring days and the brilliant sunshine. The smell of blossoms was always welcome, as well as the refreshing breeze that blew by, rustling the leaves in the trees and rolling across the meadows, dales and fields. Odd sighed peacefully.

It was April, but thank goodness there weren't any rouge thunderstorms showing up. At least, not for the moment. He was caught off guard when he felt the cushiony softness of a Nerf football bounce off his midsection.

"Come on, don't fumble it, Odd !", Sissi called, waving for him to throw it back to her. He whined slightly.

"I was watching the clouds, Sissi ! You could've let me know you were wanting me to play flag football with you !", he said, chuckling. But in all actuality, he didn't mind, because he enjoyed tackling her and tickling her playfully. He meant no harm, it was all in good fun, and he was just as bad at doing that to the others that were involved. It was Emily who received the football and almost got intercepted by William and Ulrich but she passed them. She went into the end zone, spiked the football and did a victory dance.

"Booyah ! Victory is mine !", she said, doing a combination Swim and Running Man.

"But we _all_ win, of course. But that was AWESOME Lili !", William said, mussing her hair. She acted much more like a boy than she realized but she had femininity when it came to grace, and her politeness. And her healing touch was something to be admired. She was turning out to be quite the little Warrior and the others were excited to see what else she could do in Lyoko once she really grasped her abilities.

Epilogue

During the next few days after vacation had come to a close, there had been another pop-up spring storm that came violently in the night, scaring Odd halfway out of his wits. Having run into Sissi in one of the halls, she saw that Odd was scared.

"It's the thunder and lightning again, isn't it ?", she said, noticing his tears. She dried them gently with the sleeve of her nightgown and kissed him. Another boom came and he hugged her close, burying his head into her chest.

"Ahh !", he screamed somewhat.

"It's alright. I'll walk with you back to your room, I'llwatch you go to sleep. I won't let anything happen to you Odd. I love you...", she said, very tenderly. She had suddenly become maternal, but he knew he could trust her word. She stayed close to Odd until e had fallen asleep and then quietly left the room to her own quarters.

The next day, Odd had awakened refreshed and renewed, and had been glad to see his friends again. He passed some of them on the way to their classes and joined up with those he had the privilege of being in class with.

"It's a shame vacation's over.", Odd said.

"I'm actually glad, because I was getting bored.", Sissi stated.

"You, bored ? That's definitely not like you !", Ulrich said, teasing her slightly.

"Oh, hush. I just don't like rainy nights where I have nothing to do. At least homework keeps me busy.", she said.

"Shhh, you'll jinx us all !", Nicholas added, in a near whisper. Then, they paused and laughed. Sissi's demeanor had changed so much since the last year, and she had become a regular bookworm. But her friends had always known she was extremely intelligent.

"Come on, we're going to be late !", Jeramie said, leading the way. The others, began to follow his lead and they entered Mrs. Morales' science class.

It had been another spectacular day, and the weather had been accommodating. As the day came to a close, friends and faculty said their farewells after finishing dinner and heading to their dorms or homes. Jim had been greeted by his daughter at home and soon Susanne came through the door. Instead of eating in tonight, they would be going out to dinner. It wasn't something they did often, but today had been a special day. It was the anniversary of their wedding, and Jim, not really caring about expenses, was going to make it one to remember by taking them all to eat at a high-class, upper crust restaurant.

While others finished their homework and some just sat back and watched television, the evening gently closed in and the sun began to set in the horizon. Jeramie, IM-ing his best girl, Aelita, had wished her well and sent her a plethora of kisses before signing off to go to sleep. He began reading from the middle of Stephen Hawking's _God Made the Integers_ until he fell into a deep, delta sleep.

Though the battle against XANA had been won, at least for the moment, the Warriors knew in the back of their minds they would have to face him and his minions someday again. They weren't sure when, but they would be prepared for whatever XANA had up his sleeves. Currently, they had the typical problems all teenagers face: homework, love triangles, break-ups, break outs, and so on. No matter the troubles, there were good times as well. The year hadn't been so rocky for any of them, though there were the occasional bumps and bruises that adolescents face at times. They were relieved that Jim, Susanne and the other people in the academy were there to make the transition into adulthood a smoother one. Certainly, they would miss their friends when they moved on to College, but they would never be too far from Kadic. Kadic was their soft place to fall, their sanctuary, their haven. This was always thus, and always would be for many students past, present and future. No matter the changes in the world outwardly, the academy would forever be a rock of Gibraltar for anyone who needed it, and for those who still thirsted for knowledge.

The End


End file.
